


The Best Thing I Ever Did

by Pootin



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Christmas fic!, F/F, First Dates, Fluff, accidentally put too much 2yeon in, background 2yeon, michaeng
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 07:24:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17157755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pootin/pseuds/Pootin
Summary: There's a new coffee shop that's opened up, it's conveniently on Mina's morning commute to work.Yeah, that's why she goes there every morning.





	The Best Thing I Ever Did

She’d never seen this coffee shop before.

It was newly built, interior furnished with a minimalist finish in mind. Neutral tones with copper coloured hanging light bulbs gave the café a homely aura. There weren’t too many people in the shop, after all it was 7:48 am on a Sunday, and she was running late for her appointment. She really couldn’t afford to waste time going to her usual café on the other side of town.

She really couldn’t spend any time getting coffee _at all._

She glanced at her watch.

Mina was a sucker for niche little cafés.

She walked into the building and was immediately met with a blast of welcomed heat.

It was fairly big for an independent coffee shop, with stairs leading to an upstairs area. Lowkey jazz music created a calming ambience, Mina inhaled the scent of fresh coffee and breakfast food.

She walked to the counter, struggling to get her purse out of her bag as she moved. When she finally retrieved the fiddly little thing she looked up and was met with kind eyes and a wide smile.

“Good morning! Welcome to Hops, how can I help you today?” She said cheerfully.

Mina felt overwhelmed by the amount of enthusiasm she was greeted with.

She glanced up at the menu board, seeing if they made the drink she usually got. Thankfully it didn’t cost much more than her regular shop.

“Could I have an espresso macchiato please, takeaway.”

“Of course! Can I grab your name?”

“Mina.”

The cashier grabbed the black permanent marker and quickly scribbled her name onto the coffee cup before resuming their conversation.

“Anything else for you?”

Mina skimmed her eyes over the various pastries on display behind the glass division in front of her. She had to admit that some of their concessions looked delightful, but she also had to face the fact that she didn’t have any time left to spend.

“That’ll be all for me thanks, I’m kind of in a rush.” She said as she inserted her card into the machine.

“No problem.”

It took it’s time reading her card. Mina didn’t like awkward silences.

“Is this a newly opened café? I live near here but I’ve never seen it before.”

“Ah yes!” The woman said, happy to engage in some small talk, “I’m the owner of Hops, Nayeon.”

“It’s nice in here, I’ll make sure to come by when I’ve got some more time.” Mina said politely as she pressed her pin into the card machine. It beeped melodically as she removed her card.

“That’s great to hear! We hope to see you around often Mina.”

Nayeon turned around, behind her stood a single figure, their back turned to the counter.

“Chaeng, one espresso macchiato to go please.” She said, handing the barista the cup.

“Got it boss.”

Mina noted that the girl sounded tired. Her long black hair was tied up in a ponytail that swished back and forth as she set about making the order.

Mina stood off to the side, scrolling through her phone as she waited. Some time passed by before she heard her name, or someone’s name at least.

“Mira.”

Mina looked up, thinking that was for her, and made eye contact with the barista.

She really hoped her face wasn’t bright red right now.

The woman wore a white button up shirt, her sleeves rolled past her elbows, with a name tag that read Chaeyoung. A brown leather apron was on top of the shirt, inside of the pockets a notebook and pen. She had a mole under her lips, and mina’s eyes lingered there for a second too long.

“Mira.” She repeated.

They looked at each other. The barista’s eyes may as well have been closed from how worn out she looked.

“Espresso macchiato for _Mira_.”

Mina looked around at her surroundings.

That’s her. Mira.

“Uh, thank you very much.” She said quietly, slightly bowing her head as she took the cup.

“No problem Mira. Have a nice day.”

She opened her mouth as if to correct the other woman, but she’d already turned around to start making another order.

Mina glanced at her watch, before speed walking out of the store, and jogging down the street.

 

* * *

 

“Hey Mina! Where’ve you been recently I thought you’d dipped on us.”

“Sorry Jeong, there’s another cafe closer to my usual work route I discovered recently. Easier to get to when I’m in a rush.”

“Hmph, traitor,” Jeongyeon resumed wiping the tables down, “Wait, is it that new one that opened up on the other side of town? What’s it called, _Tops_? Something like that?”

“It’s called Hops.”

The older woman snorted at the mention of her business rival’s name. She’d heard the cafe’s name far too much for her liking as of late.

“ _Hops_ more like _Flops_.” She muttered under her breath.

“You should go check it out Jeong.”

“That’s a great idea, scope out the enemy.”

Mina rolled her eyes good naturedly.

“The staff there are nice people. Maybe you guys could be like, coffee friends.”

“Look at that, she’s already friends with the staff there! Are we not enough for you?” Dahyun chimed in, popping out from behind the counter.

“Well, I’m not romantically inclined towards any of you, for one.” She said hiding her face behind the tall cup. That was a fairly bold confession for her.

“Ohhh, I see. You’ve met a pretty new barista, haven’t you.”

Mina didn’t say anything, gulping the coffee down faster in regret.

“Oh we are definitely going there together."

 

* * *

 

Hops was just a lot more conveniently placed on her commute to work than Jeongyeon’s café was.

That was all.

That’s why Mina’s visits to Hops became a lot more frequent as time went on. Some mornings Chaeyoung was there, other days she wasn’t.

Jeongyeon wanted to know exactly _why_ the café has piqued Mina’s interests. So she tagged along for lunch when they had a shared day off to investigate further.

“Hm, not gonna lie, it looks alright.”

“Alright? Jeong you know it’s okay to compliment other coffee shops that aren’t yours.”

They pushed the door open, the lunchtime rush had begun to die down but the café was still moderately busy.

Mina spotted Nayeon precariously stood on a stepladder in the corner of the shop, attempting to hang some fairy lights up. The electrics were tangled up at her feet, and the ladder seemed to be shaking slightly.

“Hey, isn’t that just a little bit dangerous!” Jeongyeon stormed over, ready to instill some health and safety knowledge into the woman.

“I’m fine I’m fine! This is perfectly sa-” Nayeon’s reassuring arm waves resulted in her tipping backwards, straight into Jeongyeon’s outstretched arms. She let out a loud _oof_ as she caught Nayeon.

“Thank you! You’ve saved my life, you- who are you.”

“Nayeon meet Jeongyeon, she owns Signal. Jeongyeon, Nayeon, the owner of Hops.”

Jeongyeon’s eyes went down to Nayeon’s rabbit-like front teeth, her mouth was wide open as she stared unabashedly at the woman still holding her.

She smirked deviously. “I see why it’s called Hops.”

Mina walked away from the chaos that was about to ensue.

 

* * *

 

She was glad that her friend’s romantic life had come alive. Ever since they’d visited Hops together, Jeongyeon wouldn’t stop going on about the other café owner, even if it was about how annoying she was. Mina’s love life on the other hand, hadn’t even begun.

“I swear you keep changing your name every time you’re in here.”

Mina was sure that Chaeyoung was well aware of her real name, despite the multiple times she’d been called _Nina_ or some variation of the name. If the cheeky smile on her face indicated that she was flirting, and if Mina had been a little less dense than normal, they might’ve already been a thing by now. But Mina hadn’t thought anything of the other woman’s actions, adamant that there was no way Chaeyoung could think anything more of her than a regular.

So it went on like that for a few more weeks, until she was faced with the predicament that came every year, at the end of the year.

Christmas.

 

* * *

 

“You have anything planned for tomorrow?”

“No, not really.”

“Not spending time with the family?”

“Both of my parents are in Japan.” Mina smiled as she spoke, it helped to cover up the hurt she felt when she thought about them.

“Oh, sorry Mina. Do you want to come ice skating with Jeongyeon and I?”

“Don’t let me interrupt your romantic date.”

Nayeon blushed a little at Mina’s comment, but didn’t deny anything.

“Invite revoked.”

Mina pouted.

“Invite unrevoked.”

“Seriously, I’ll be fine. Have some files I have to be organising anyhow.”

“On the house,” Nayeon said stopping Mina from taking her cash out, “Merry Christmas, I hope you have a good day.”

They exchange smiles before Nayeon has to move onto the next customer.

Mina walked over to the waiting area, tomorrow she would wake up early, make herself a cup of coffee because most businesses would be shut. She would then Skype her parents for as long as they had topics to talk about. Afterwards she’ll go on Snapchat and Instagram and see her friends having fun with their respective partners. Then she will turn the TV on, and watch whatever classic, sappy, Christmas films are on until she falls asleep alone surrounded by blankets and snacks on her sofa.

Sounds good.

Sounds like every Christmas she’s had after leaving Japan.

“Mina.”

She’s taken out of her brooding by the sound of Chaeyoung’s voice calling her name.

“Thank you, Chaeyoung.” She grabs the cup, trying not to look affected when her fingers brush against the other woman’s.

“No problem.” Mina moves to leave but the shorter woman doesn’t let go of the cup. So Mina looks back to find curious eyes studying her from behind thin silver-framed glasses.

“Not to sound like a weirdo, but I overheard your conversation with Nayeon earlier.”

_Oh god now she knows how much of a loner I am._

“I was wondering, unless your plans have changed in like three minutes,” She lets out a nervous laugh before clearing her throat, “If you’d like to.”

Mina waits expectantly.

“If you wanted to, maybe, uh, spend the day with me? Maybe. If you want.”

“Like a date?”

“Yeah, do you want to go on a date with me?” Chaeyoung finally found her words, trying her best to sound calm and confident.

“Yes. Absolutely. I-I would love that. Yes!”

“Cool, yeah, that’s great. Brilliant! I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“Wait, what’s your number?”

“Check the bottom of your cup after you’re finished.” Chaeyoung said with a wink, leaving the Japanese woman stuttering at the counter.

 _She just winked at me_.

 

* * *

 

Mina woke up to heavy snow the next morning.

Peering outside of her apartment window she found that every inch of the landscape had been covered in a blanket of white.

Her phone pinged with a notification, the screen read 9:36 am.

Her mind drifted back to last night, she’d been up texting Chaeyoung for most of it. Getting to know her a little better to prepare for their, _date_.

Mina flopped back onto the bed and rolled around, squealing as loudly as she could, so really not that loudly, into a pillow.

 

* * *

 

 Mina was surprised to find that she was actually pretty good at ice skating. Her legs were shaky at first, but the movements came naturally to her, and it didn’t take long for her to start gliding along the ice gracefully.

“Are you like a secret Olympic skater or something?” Chaeyoung said clutching onto Mina’s hands, she was keeping her steady.

“It’s just my ballet skills kicking in.”

“You do ballet?”

“I used to.”

“What else are you hiding from me Myoui.”

“I’m insanely good at games.”

“Oh yeah? We’ll see about that.”

After Chaeyoung had had enough of falling over, they went to the Christmas fair, it was packed full of games, rides and food stands. Chaeyoung won Mina an embarrassingly large plush penguin after three desperate tries at shooting moving ducks on a wall. Mina chose a tiger keyring for Chaeyoung after teasing her, saying she that she resembled the animal a lot.

She won in one go.

They decided to grab a set of churros each to fill their empty stomachs.

As they sat on the cold bench eating their food, Chaeyoung’s eye caught the rotating ferris wheel in the distance. She jumped up, grabbed Mina’s hand and pulled her into a light jog. They weaved in and out of the crowd until they reached the queue.

“Scared of heights?”

Mina shook her head.

They paid the ticket attendant and climbed onto the slow moving carriage.

They sat next to each other, shivering at the feeling of the cold metal seats underneath them. Both of them sat in silence for a few minutes, not needing to say anything. Mina watched the way the funfair lights flickered across the other woman’s face, a question had been nagging her all day.

“How come you’re not spending Christmas with your family?” She blurted out without realising she’d even said it.

“I was going to, but I heard what you said. I couldn’t let you spend Christmas by yourself.”

Mina felt her heart skip a beat.

“You don’t regret it do you?”

“Are you kidding me?” Chaeyoung whipped her head around looking dumbfounded, “Asking you out is the best thing I’ve ever done.” She said straightforwardly, blushing deeply afterwards.

Chaeyoung hesitantly moved her hands closer to Mina’s, before thinking _fuck it_ and intertwining their fingers together.

Mina felt a surge of confidence at the action, and before she could chicken out she dipped her head down and placed a chaste kiss to Chaeyoung’s cheek. She then buried her face into the penguin toy.

They spent the rest of the ride leaning against each other, relishing in the comfortable silence between them.

 

* * *

 

They stood outside of Mina’s apartment, neither wanting to say goodbye to the other.

“I had a-”

“Do you-”

They both started at the same time, and stopped. Chaeyoung motioned for Mina to go ahead first.

_Just say it Mina!_

She held the plushie in her arms tighter, gathering the courage to speak.

“Do you want to come up?”

“Oh, I-” Chaeyoung’s eyebrows went up slightly.

“Not in that way! I mean, do you want to maybe just watch Christmas films? Until you want to leave.” Mina watched her breath condense in the air, “I kind of want to spend the rest of the evening with you, if that’s alright.”

Chaeyoung smiled, her dimple showing.

“That’s more than alright.”

 

* * *

 

Mina woke up surrounded by blankets and darkness. Her TV was on, a studio ghibli film playing on low volume, and she had no idea what the time was.

Craning her neck up she saw the sweet wrappers and mugs of hot chocolate on her coffee table. The clock in her living room ticked loudly.

_Did I really dream all of that up?_

Her heart sank. So much for a Christmas miracle. Tears pricked at her eyes, she was going to cry.

Until she felt something move next to her.

A warm weight shuffled from the other side of the couch and rested itself on her arm. Chaeyoung’s head popped out from underneath the pile of blankets. She sat up, leaning her head on Mina’s shoulder, her messy hair tickling her nose.

“Hi.” Chaeyoung said, a crooked smile on her face.

“Hey.”

“Why’s a pretty girl like you looking so sad on Christmas?”

“Well you see I thought I’d dreamt up the most amazing person, that the best Christmas I’ve ever had, had never happened.”

“That sucks. She must’ve been something else.”

They both giggled.

“She really was, _is._ ”

Chaeyoung brought her left hand up to her mouth in a fist and cleared her throat, she glanced above their heads.

Mina looked towards the direction she was signalling at, and couldn’t help the grin that appeared on her face.

“If you want to, that is.”

She leaned in, pressing her lips against Chaeyoung’s own. She tasted like chocolate and candy. She smelled like fresh coffee and pine. She felt a lot like home.

The mistletoe dropped out of the younger woman’s hands as she cupped Mina’s face. They pulled apart, breathless.

“Am I dreaming?” Mina whispered, eyes desperately seeking for some sort of confirmation that this was real.

“I really, _really_ hope not.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> So that was cheesy as fuck. I actually spent the whole of this morning writing this.
> 
> Merry Christmas and happy holidays. I hope you enjoyed this fic. Sorry it's slightly rushed!


End file.
